What to do if stomach acid refluxes

I believe that many people do not know the cause of the symptom of acid reflux, and even less know how to treat this symptom. Therefore, in order to increase everyone's understanding of acid reflux, it is recommended that you can read the following content. When we have acid reflux, we can use medication to regulate the body, or we can eat alkaline foods to neutralize the excess stomach acid.

What is acid reflux?

When gastric acid is secreted in large quantities, the stomach contracts more strongly due to the stimulation of the acid. At this time, the cardia muscle at the junction of the stomach and esophagus relaxes, and the acid in the stomach then flows back into the esophagus, causing acid reflux symptoms.

Causes of acid reflux

Genetic factors

There are many diseases that are hereditary, and similarly, acid reflux is also hereditary. Thirty percent of patients with acid reflux have genetic problems. If it is a genetic problem, then it will be quite difficult to treat, so we can improve this situation and alleviate the pain by paying attention to our diet. For example, eat more milk and eggs on a daily basis.

Bad living habits

1. Overeating will cause the stomach to produce more gastric acid. However, the space in the stomach is limited, which can easily lead to the upward movement of gastric acid and food, resulting in acid reflux symptoms.

2. Smoking, drinking, eating fried foods, etc. will relax the cardia muscles, causing acid reflux.

3. Lying down right after a meal and eating before going to bed. These habits will slow down stomach movement. The longer the food stays in the stomach, the more gastric acid will be stimulated to be secreted, thus causing acid reflux.

Disease impact

People with diseases such as gastroesophageal reflux disease are prone to symptoms such as acid reflux and heartburn because the cardia is not closed tightly. Other diseases, such as gastric ulcer, eosinophilic esophagitis, gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, etc., can also cause acid reflux symptoms.

What are the effects of acid reflux

Occasional acid reflux will not have much impact on the gastrointestinal tract. However, if acid reflux occurs for a long time, stomach acid will damage the epidermal mucosa of the esophagus and throat, leading to esophagitis, pharyngitis or long-term cough. When the body's repair function is unable to repair the wounds caused by acid reflux in time, it will cause ulcers and eventually develop into tumors.

What to do about acid reflux

Diet

The biggest cause of acid reflux is a lack of self-discipline in life. Therefore, the most important thing to improve acid reflux is to improve your lifestyle. Avoid overeating and eating before going to bed. At the same time, you should also properly control the variety of your food, eat less sweets and foods rich in starch and fat, limit foods such as chocolate, tea, and coffee, and quit smoking and drinking.

Raise the head of your bed when sleeping

People who often suffer from acid reflux can raise the head of the bed by 15 to 20 centimeters when sleeping. This will use gravity to increase the difficulty of stomach acid climbing during sleep and reduce reflux. Some anti-gastroesophageal reflux pillows use this principle.

Medication

Some people have obvious and recurring acid reflux symptoms, which cannot be well controlled by improving their lifestyle. At this time, they need to see a doctor and take medication. It should be noted that many patients reduce or even stop taking medication on their own after their symptoms improve, which can easily lead to recurring symptoms. Therefore, you must follow your doctor's orders when taking medicine.

Surgery

For most people, acid reflux symptoms can be controlled with medication. However, a small number of people need surgical treatment because of certain conditions, such as hiatal hernia, too relaxed cardiac muscles, etc., whose symptoms recur severely.